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I’m one of those people who is still playing Pokémon Go, the location-based mobile game that set the world on fire in July 2016. If you ask me why, I’ll have to say that I really don’t know why. It’s not because it has addictive gameplay.

Sometimes we play games for a long time, and it isn’t easy to explain why. We’re always a little sheepish when someone asks how many hours we’ve put into it. I don’t know why, but I’ve walked hundreds of kilometers with Pokémon Go over the past two years. Yet I was never much of a Pokémon fan before Niantic Labs‘ game came along.

I’m not alone in this habit. Pokémon Go has made more than $1.9 billion in gross player spending since launching two years ago this month, according to measurement firm Sensor Tower. In terms of unique installs of one per Apple ID or Google account, it has been downloaded more than 500 million times (The Pokémon Company’s figure is more than 800 million). The game grossed approximately $70 million in June 2018 and $182.5 million in the last quarter, making it the No. 8 grossing game in June and the No. 7 grossing in 2Q18. And in June, market researcher SuperData Research said Pokémon Go had its biggest number of players in two years.

As far as gameplay goes, I’ve played more exciting mobile games like Clash Royale, Dawn of Titans, and HQ Trivia. I’ve dropped Pokémon Go to play games like Westworld, and sometimes I’ve stayed away for a long time. But I’ve always come back to it, like a security blanket. It’s kind of like how World of Warcraft players keep going back to their game when it receives a new update. And Niantic keeps doing enough on the update front to make the game feel fresh enough to return to.

Above: That’s me in Pokémon Go, in case you see me out in the wild.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

I’m sure that rivals in mobile gaming underestimated the power of Pokémon Go, as it seemed like a simple game that was easy to beat.

With Pokémon Go, I think it’s a whole collection of mini motivators, including some that have nothing to do with gaming. My dog, for instance, has to be walked. A big park with nine PokéStops is within walking distance of my house, and that makes it easier for me to make progress in the game. And often Pokémon Go is the only way I can get close to 30 minutes of exercise in a day. I’m obsessed with getting those walks in, since I can see results on my Apple Watch.

Niantic Labs created the app in part because its creators feared we had too much screen time, sitting at our desks. It got us sedentary gamers off the couch and walking around outside. With me, the chance to improve my physical fitness was a key motivator. At other times, I play out of boredom, like I don’t have enough other good games to play on mobile devices.

Part of the point was to turn interesting city landmarks into PokéStops so that we could visit them and learn

EmBRAZEN brand wines celebrates women’s history with augmented labels highlighting three incredible female figures. Since its initial launch, Tactic’s Living Wine Labels app has received over 1.2 million downloads, providing augmented wine bottle labels to five high-profile brands. Whether it’s the Walking Dead cabarnet or a 19 Crimes shiraz, the company appears to have a

What Are You Playing (WRUP) is a weekly discussion series in which we talk about the VR games and apps that have our attention currently and ask you what you’ve been playing this week and intend to play over the weekend. Join into the discussion in the comments down below! Pictured up above is Be The Hero.

David Jagneaux – Games Editor

This week I spent a good bit of time creeping my way through The Exorcist VR (review is now live, as well as Part 1 and Part 2 of my livestream playthrough) but have also dove into the puzzling world of Twilight Path, a new game on the way from the creators of Form, and I published a hands-on of Transference from Ubisoft. This weekend I’ll probably mostly spend time with the Oculus Go on some simple mobile titles as well as dip my toe into Torn while Jamie focuses on that review. But next week is all about Firewall Zero Hour. My PS Aim is locked and loaded.

Ian Hamilton – Senior Editor

“I’ve got an iMac and eGPU with an NVIDIA 1080 I want to use for VR under the most ridiculous arrangement possible — using Boot Camp on the iMac to run Windows with the eGPU so that my underpowered Mac can run a Rift or Vive and all of my favorite games. My hope is to use this setup to get a player two into my VR games from time to time, or to have a backup if my main machine goes down. I’ve seen commenters asking if this same kind of USB-C connected hardware might work with a PC to connect the Vive Wireless Adapter to a laptop. It will likely be a while before I find answers to whether any of this workable. Nonetheless, I’m going keep looking into what I can find out in this area because USB-C may separately become a core part next generation VR headsets with the VirtualLink connector supported by the latest RTX 20 Series of NVIDIA cards.

Also, I can’t stop playing Beat Saber.” – Ian Hamilton

Jamie Feltham – News Editor

Currently, Jamie is knee-deep in the mind-bending world of Torn, which he is playing for review. You can expect to see that on the site late Monday night just before Firewall Zero Hour launches on Tuesday. That will likely be most of his weekend play time as well, but next week he’ll be diving into Bow to Blood and playing some multiplayer matches with me in Firewall. This week he posted hands-on previews from Gamescom of Telefrag, Crazy Machine VR, A Fisherman’s Tale, and HoloBeat.

Tal Blevins – Editor-in-Chief

Tal is off in Germany still after Gamescom on business and won’t be back for a while. However, while at the event, he did go hands-on with The Wizards’ PSVR port and Arizona Sunshine’s location-based wireless arcade adaptation. In the coming weeks he’ll be joining us on the frontlines in Firewall Zero Hour, so keep an eye for his appearances on streams and gameplay

I’ve ended up pushing my heart rate to the absolute limit this week. After livestreaming The Exorcist VR not once, but twice, then reviewing the game, I then decided to close out the week by watching The Nun: Escape the Abbey, a terrifying 3D 360-video that’s basically just three straight minutes of suspenseful atmosphere building up to a massive jump scare at the end. It’s a promotional video for The Nun, which hits theaters on September 7th.

We went ahead and embedded the full 3D 360-video right here (rendered in 8K!) but we recommend watching it in a headset and not just on your phone or PC screen:

The Nun is an upcoming horror film set in the same universe as Annabelle and The Conjuring, the series is often lauded as the modern-day Exorcist in terms of tone and setting and I definitely agree. I’m absolutely planning on going to see the film in theaters as an adrenaline junkie and this 360-video got my blood-pumping big time.

If you’d rather watch it some other way then you can find a full list of formats over the on the 360-videos official website. I just watched it on the Oculus Go using the internal browser via YouTube. Honestly, it’s my go-to headset for any type of 360 video because of the accessibility and wireless nature.

Typically I’m not a big fan of 360-video, but when watched inside of a headset it’s better. And when the content is horror-themed, it feels like the best use of the medium.

The Oculus Creators Lab delivers yet another offering of socially conscious VR films that will leave you thinking. Since its initial launch three years ago, Oculus VR for Good’s Creators Lab program has teamed up with independent filmmakers from around the world to produce over a dozen high-grade VR films covering a wide-range of social

I think we’re all eagerly awaiting the arrival of next week a little too much to pay much attention to this week’s releases, but there are still some things you should definitely check out. Most notably there’s a free taster of Ubisoft’s next VR game on offer, and more experiments in the realm of VR music.

Transference: The Walter Test Case, from SpectreVision
Price: Free

Normally we wouldn’t include a demo on this list, but Transference’s early showcase actually includes unique content that’s a prequel to the full game. Get an early taste of this psychological thriller exclusively on PSVR and get a feel for how the game’s mix of real-time and CG content is going to work. The full thing launches next month.

Track Lab, from Little Chicken Game Company
Price: $19.99

Another musical VR experience, this time allowing you to create your own music by arranging beats and notes. Puzzle-like challenges will teach you the basics of the game before you’re let loose to create and mix your own tunes. We weren’t super keen on the game, though perhaps music fans will find it to be a fitting complement to Electronauts.